While grilling and broiling are two different things, one can be a perfectly acceptable substitute for the other. Grilling is typically done over gas or charcoal and the heat comes from the bottom. Because charcoal and most good quality gas grills get hotter than most home broilers, grilling provides better searing. You also get those wonderful grill marks only achievable by placing the food on to something hot. With broiling, the heat is generally a bit cooler and comes from above so no grill marks and less searing. I have grilled dishes that called for broiling (e.g. salmon) and vice versa with no ill effectss. The only difference is the time it takes to cook, and the added smokiness that comes from using charcoal.

With regard to temperature, well, that depends on the recipe. My broiler has both a high and a low setting and I have used both. Further, you can grill over direct high heat or indirect low heat. A good recipe will provide specific instruction, but for grilling, the general rule of thumb is...if it will cook in less than 20 minutes use direct high heat, and if more than 20 minutes indirect lower heat. I guess my point is that grilling is a method unto itself. Weber publishes a couple of great cookbooks on grilling. If you can find one and experiment a bit it all makes sense pretty quickly.

When you put a whole croc in the gas grill, if you put the underside to the flames it is grilling, and if you the flames to its back it's broiling. With kangaroos it's a bit different. If you need more detailed info ask me at vvvvvv.com

Oh what the he11 I'll jump in on the whole you say tomato I say tomahto thing :lol:

Actually in technical terms ( and since I stepped foot in my first kichen back in 1976......)

Grill is to cook on a grate or solid surface with the flame under as in flat-top grill, char- grill, charcoal grill, wood grill, gas grill and now infra-red grill. Broiling is to cook on a grate or surface with the flame over as in Char-broiler, salamander or just plain broiler. Flame above and below would be just an oven.;)

Oldschool is absolutely correct. From a technical standpoint, broiling is to cook with a high-heat source over the food; grilling is to do the same with the heat source from the bottom.

About 99% of the time you can use the two techniques interchangeably. There are nuances, of course, as others have mentioned. But the only time they are not interchangeable is when you are melting or browning something under the broiler.

For instance, you might have a dish that is almost complete, but which you then sprinkle with cheese which gets melted under the broiler. That's hard to do on a grill. :)

True, you can close the cover on a grill and the cheese will melt. But the finished texture isn't quite the same.

They have taken the oath of the brother in blood, in leavened bread and salt. Rudyard Kipling

So, we grill our bottoms, broil our tops (sounds like an English tourist on holiday in Mallorca) hehe just kidding UK friends.

You would grill a tomahto, and broil a tomayto.

Welsh rarebits - these go under a broiler, but in Wales they would go under a griller.

What the heck is the thing George Foreman endorses really then - maybe a double sided griller?

I understand better now for the benefit of reading recipes from elsewhere. Generally here its all called grilling. You just gotta specify the equipment.

As in courtroom - a lawyer grills a witness. Grill under high heat until done :)

I've always wondered at the naming of a Salamander in kitchens - found a website that sheds some light...

"Salamanders are generally amphibians – those animals who are inhabitants of both the water and the land. Generally speaking, a salamander belongs to a group that is somewhere in between the species of fish and reptiles. This group is a herd of back-boned creatures that also includes frogs and toads. AS for the salamander, it looks like a lizard in terms of structure and is cold-blooded.

Ancient legend states that the origin of the very first salamander was out of the heart of fire. Given that notion, the general concept that people developed about salamanders was they are not affected by heat. The food of the salamander consists of creatures like worms, slugs and insects for which it hunts during the cool ambience of the night. Nevertheless while the salamander is a predator for the previously mentioned creatures, it could be a prey for some animals such as the water snake. To protect itself from danger, the salamander has some glands that ooze out poison."
Ref.: Can Anyone Define The Characteristics Of A Salamander? - Blurtit

The bit in bold is what I'm talking about, but the rest is just interesting.
I hope your salamander doesn't ooze out poison :D

Somewhere down the line, we in the UK developed "The" grill. That is the attached part of the oven that "broils". At home, we have an oven with an overhead grill, Others have an oven with grill and both become the word for a US broiler.
Im grateful for the definitions, as i was a bit confused too. So UK is grill (broil) and bbq (grill)?

"If we're not supposed to eat animals, why are they made of meat?" Jo Brand

I always liked a broiler for steaks in the restaurant. Even though the heat is from the top you get an all around heat. Folks who don't like them don't know how to use them. They're also great for chicken breast and stuff like lobster tail and oysters rockefeller.

Traditionally, I suspect because of our climate, the grill (broiler( is the only way we had to dry fry (for want of a better term) our foods. Barbecues are a johnny come lately here (but a welcome addition, nonetheless!)

>Ancient legend states that the origin of the very first salamander was out of the heart of fire.<

In ancient times they believed the universe consisted of four elements: fire, water, earth and air. Each of them had a controlling being, or spirit, called an elemental. The elemental for fire was a lizard-like critter called a Salamander.

Later on the legend of dragons breathing fire arose because of their physical similarity to Salamaders.

Incredible how much trivia one amasses over a lifetime. :lol:

They have taken the oath of the brother in blood, in leavened bread and salt. Rudyard Kipling

There is almost as much confusion between grilling and barbecueing. Grilling being done over open flame and high heat, and barbecue with low heat and often indirect heat. As long as the food tastes great, a rose with another name would smell just as sweet.

IMO grilling and broiling are two VERY different things. As has been explained, grilling means direct heat underneath food placed on a grate, while broiling means direct heat above the food placed in a dish or on a tray. Usually grilling is done on the open so the steam can escape, while broiling is done in a closed oven. Your results will be very different.

Also, when grilling, the melting fat from what you food will fall on the coals or the metal bars of your grill, and burn, creating smoke. That's true of both coal or gas grills. That smoke gives your food the "barbecue" taste. No such thing with a broiler.

Try grilling potatoes au gratin. Or a skinless buttery fish fillet such as Turbot or Black Cod. Good luck with that! :lol: on the other hand... broiled hamburger anyone? Hmmmmm.... maybe not.

Broiling - Very high, nearly-direct heat applied at close proximity, usually for very short amounts of time. Best for searing the outside of an item, while minimally cooking the interior, or adding color, or melting cheese on an otherwise cooked dish. Some items like fish/seafood are light enough density that the inside will cook within the short amount of time it's under the broiler while the outside browns/sears.
Equipment: Broiler setting, or broiling rack on your oven (depending on which it is equipped with); any oven/broiler-safe flat pan should be acceptable.

Grilling - Low, moderate, or high heat, indirectly radiating up from a heat source, whether charcoal, wood embers, or gas-powered flame. Heat can be adjusted more easily than with broiling for slower cooking times.
Equipment: Depends on your preference. I prefer charcoal, because the process is as much a part of the way I cook as the finished product. There are people and scenarios where gas grilling is preferred because it's quicker to get started, and easier to adjust.

Ultimately it sounds like the answer is broiling is grilling. The confusion comes from different countries having different names for things, eg. USA calls the main part of the mean the entrée, most of the rest of the world call the beginning part of the meal the entrée. Below are some other terms that are different in the US from other places that seem to cause confusion.

US OTHERS

Grill Barbecue

Broil Grill

KYHeirloomer, barbecue may not be a verb where you are but in other countries to barbecue is to cook on a grill (American). The question wasn't so much about the difference between the methods in one country but the difference between the same word in other countries. If you check the cookbook to see where it comes from will give you a help to understand what you are being asked to do. Just as an added heads up, if you are not from America and you are using an American cookbook you need to remember their cup measurements are larger than metric cup measurements, their tablespoon and teaspoon measurements are different also, which changes the ratio of the ingredients and can spoil the recipe if not converted correctly.

And just as a added bonus, a thong to Americans is something you wear as underwear (others call that a G String), for other countries they are the rubber slip on things you wear on your feet.

When reading a recipe, if it doesn't make sense I move on, or use my best judgment, based on personal taste, experience & adapting to the cooking apparatuses I have on hand. Broiling should say place under the (stove) broiler, & grilling should give you clear steps for same.

There are significant differences between the physics of grilling and broiling.

Grilling is heating the food with convection heat(conduction by air) and infrared radiation heat. Food is charred mostly on the bottom, it is possible to char on all surfaces with grilling by grilling in a closed environment, in which case it is basically baking.

Broiling is heating the food mostly with infrared heat. Only the top of the food gets charred. The bottom of food remains cold until the thermal conductivity of the food reaches the bottom. Food in the shadows of the infrared radiation will not be cooked as well. Dark colored food gets cooked faster than light colored food.

We were up at a friends yesterday and I broke down a front quarter of venison for grilling. I would never try to broil working meat like that it simply would not work.

For this project I removed as much connective tissue as I could and marinated the cuts in olive oil, lemon juice, Greek oregano, thyme, salt and pepper. We had a nice bed of coals from maple and I banked the grill to one side and I put the large muscles on the cool side for indirect heat. After they had turned a few times and were rare I redistributed the coals and put the smaller pieces on. Everything came off at the same time and rested a good 20 minutes. There was no blood when I sliced it and it was tender and delicious.

dcarch, that is if you are only talking one cooking language. If you are talking US vs other country terms there is no real difference between broiling and grilling. The answer will always come down to the country of the recipe compared to the country you are in. E.g. in Australia using an American recipe broiling (US) would mean grilling (Australia) and grilling (US) would mean barbecuing (Australia). In America barbecue is a product in other countries it is also a method of cooking and also a appliance you can cook on.